Closure?
by She-bop
Summary: takes place after Cravings; includes characters from Cravings and Instinct. Ichigo's latest episode leads him to his very first partner, Grimmjow, but where will that lead?
1. Unexpected Encounter

Ichigo tossed and turned fitfully one night, unaware of the cause of his disturbance until it was already too late. He cursed into his pillow so that his family wouldn't hear. Over time, the young man had gotten fairly good at gauging the cycle of his condition and making sure that it would be well taken care of when the time came. Of course, it didn't hurt that as his time of need drew nearer, that his hollow would grow increasingly obnoxious and in very specific ways.

This time was different. His hollow had given him no indication of the approaching episode, and he had been so caught up in the rest of his life that the condition had slipped his mind, which was nice for a while, but now he was paying for it.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Ichigo grumbled into the pillow.

The hollow didn't answer. It had grown bored with how well Ichigo was handling himself, feeling that it took much of the excitement out of his encounters.

Ichigo wanted to blame the hollow for his lapse in judgment but ultimately blamed himself, as he always did. "Well, I can't stay here," he muttered as he swung his feet over the side of the bed and started looking for Kon. "Where the hell is that little plushy?" he grumbled.

When his search proved fruitless, he reasoned that Kon had decided to sleep over at Urahara's, a habit that started quite some time ago but only now interfered with Ichigo's plans. As he got dressed, he could sense the hollow within him was growing increasingly anxious. It wanted to know where the teen intended to go, who he would seek out now that things were going to quickly become very desperate. However, since Ichigo didn't even know where he was going or who he would encounter along the way, that left the inner demon hanging in an almost titillating anticipation.

Eventually, the hollow grew impatient and started listing off the young man's previous lovers, then those who had presented themselves as an option but had yet to be taken advantage of, and finally those who were completely oblivious but still too attractive to completely ignore. It only helped the creature that they had similar preferences, at least when it came to what each of them found physically attractive. After that, they each had their own reasons for being attracted to or repelled by an individual.

"Come on!" the hollow finally started to plead. "You can't put it off forever! You have to do something soon, or you're going to hurt yourself!" he warned.

Ichigo tried to shrug it off. He was still deciding who he wanted to approach and had managed to narrow the list to only a couple of people that he felt comfortable turning to at this point. and the hollow's impatient ranting wasn't helping. "Shut up! I'll deal with it. Don't worry. I know I can't ignore it. Just give me some time," he tried to reason with the creature. It was always so much harder to deal with his episodes when he couldn't rely on Shinji.

Unbeknownst to the soul reaper and his inner hollow, someone had decided to follow them on their little walk. Grimmjow was beginning to wonder why Ichigo hadn't noticed him, in spite of his not bothering to hide his reitsu. He was just about to approach the obviously distracted young man when he suddenly started talking to himself. What he was saying intrigued the espada enough to make him want to hear more.

"It's not that hard," the hollow hissed impatiently.

"I just need time to choose. Just let me alone for five god damn minutes so I can think!" Ichigo bargained a little louder than he intended to.

"You keep forgetting that isn't about you. If you don't make up your mind soon, I'll do it for you," he threatened seriously.

Ichigo swallowed hard and stopped dead in his tracks.

"Yeah, you don't want that to happen, do ya?" it taunted. "Oh but if there's any time I could do it, it'll be soon if you don't get your ass in gear!"

The teen nearly screamed with frustration as he suddenly turned around to start walking out of the park that he'd only just entered. That was when he noticed Grimmjow, who had foregone his better hiding skills in favor of being close enough to listen properly.

"Perfect! That's exactly what you need! Don't let him get away!" the hollow suddenly started to rave hysterically.

"Kurosaki," Grimmjow greeted as he stepped out. There was no point in continuing to hide when it was obvious that he had been seen.

"Grimmjow…" Ichigo grumbled. "Step aside," he ordered as he tried to pass.

The espada was taken off guard by the order. "I heard you talkin' to yourself," he taunted.

"I'm not going to fight you," the young man informed. "So just step aside."

When Ichigo took another couple of steps forward in an attempt to maneuver past, Grimmjow got a better look at him and the opportunity to really take in his scent. "What if I don't wanna fight ya?" the espada proposed haughtily. Something about the young man was egging him on.

Ichigo sneered but his look was met with an attempted kiss. "Get off me!" he pushed the other away with the marked force that he wished he'd had during their previous encounters.

"Come on. You can't fool me. I know you got it too. You got the fever and you're tryin' to deal with it by yourself," the arancar accused.

The teen gave a sigh of exasperation. "It's not like that," he protested.

"This says otherwise," the teal-haired man roughly grabbed the young man's erection through his jeans. "Besides, I can smell it on ya. You got it bad," he nearly purred.

"Okay, that part's the same but everything else is different," he protested in spite of the urging he was receiving from his inner hollow.

"Looks the same from here," the taller man shrugged and tried to close the distance again. Unlike when he first pursued the young soul reaper, this time, Ichigo seemed torn between fight and flight. He took advantage of that by trying to kiss the young man again, this time with a little more success than the last.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Ichigo demanded indignantly because he was having a hard time getting his body to obey him in not immediately yielding to the strong, pushy hollow.

"I'm doin' what I'm supposed to do when someone with the fever sees me. I'm helpin' you out," he tried to reason.

Ichigo gave a groan of frustration as he had to force himself another couple of paces away from the espada. "It's not like that. I don't have to have anyone in particular. I don't need you just 'cause I saw you," he countered.

To his surprise, Grimmjow was more than a little put off by the idea that Ichigo didn't want him even a little. "Look," he closed the distance once again. "I never thought I'd say this, but I feel like I owe you for what you did for me," he admitted seriously.

The sincerity of the larger man's tone caught Ichigo off guard which meant that he quickly found the space between their bodies getting smaller once again. "You can't make up for what you did to me," he growled.

"I know you woulda helped me out if you knew what was goin' on. Even though you hate me, it's in your nature," the espada bragged.

Ichigo blushed fiercely. "Okay, maybe I would've helped you out, since it was sort of my fault that you saw me like that in the first place, but everything after that is unforgivable. There is absolutely nothing that could make up for it," he insisted.

"So let me get you back for that first time then," Grimmjow proposed forcefully. Seeing his rival so flushed and flustered was starting to get to him, and his fiercely fluctuating reitsu wasn't helping either. Before the other could answer, he closed the distance between them and started kissing the young man again while groping his erection.

The heat was already almost too much for Ichigo, and the affections, however unwanted, still felt good enough to give in, at least for a few moments. He finally kissed back and with marked passion, not the tentativeness that the other expected.

Before long, they were making out and Ichigo was unwillingly approaching his first release. "Ah, Grimmjow, you have to stop," he finally protested when he felt the first jolt of pre-orgasm.

The arrancar snickered and groped harder, reveling in the abandon he so easily elicited from the young man. He even found himself wishing that he could have had him like this during his last fever.

The adept attention, however rude, brought Ichigo to his first orgasm sooner than he would have liked. He had been hoping to hold out until after he managed to get rid of the obnoxious espada but apparently fate had other plans.

Grimmjow was startled that the soul reaper came so easily. While he was delighted that his touches could cause such a reaction, he had been hoping to draw things out a little more than that. That mild disappointment was quickly dispelled with the young man's next words.

"Ugh, keep goin'," he hesitantly urged. As badly as he wanted to get away from his former attacker, his condition was over ruling that bitterness in favor of the current pleasure being provided.

The teal-haired man gave the shorter young man a skeptical look that turned to slight shock when Ichigo pressed himself against the hand that had just been groping him, revealing that he was still quite hard. "But you just-" he attempted to protest but mostly out of confusion.

"That's the trade off," Ichigo grumbled. "It takes more than once to get it over with."

The idea that there was a trade off for the fact that Ichigo wouldn't get feverish for one person, an idea that had stirred up quite a bit of jealousy in the espada, made him feel a little better about the situation. He felt good enough about it to continue fondling the young man through his now wet jeans. "How many times we talkin' here?" he asked with hopeful anxiety.

Ichigo tried not to laugh. "I never bothered to count," he informed.

That response made Grimmjow wonder if maybe he was in over his head but he hated that feeling so he quickly pushed it aside as he tried to do the same with the teen's pants, unfastening the fly and roughly jerking the fabric away.

"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into," Ichigo tried to warn but once Grimmjow's rough, callused hand was on his engorged length, he was trying to kiss the taller man once again.

"I think I can handle a horney kid like you," the arrancar scoffed against the orange-haired teen's lips.

"Maybe a horney kid, but not one like me," he insisted, this time pushing back physically and spiritually. Grimmjow had unwittingly surrendered a fair portion of his reitsu while trying to coerce the young man into messing around with him. This gave him an unexpected advantage and Ichigo used the daze that it caused to try to start pushing the taller man downward.

The advance was so much stronger than Grimmjow expected that he had trouble fighting it. When he felt his knees nearly give into the pressure, he lightly gasped into their sloppy, aggressive kiss. Then, out of curiosity, he started to comply. He was surprised that Ichigo wasn't descending with him and when he was on a knee, the young mans hands started playing with his hair.

The espada gave a crude chuckle. "What do you expect me to do down here?"

Ichigo gave an indignant grumble. "Don't tell me all you guys do is fuck each other. Doesn't that get boring?" he complained.

"It's not something that happens all the time," Grimmjow dismissed and because he was more than a little irked at having his sexual prowess questioned by a human adolescent, he finished his work of the button and fly now only inches from his face.

"Neither is this…but there are other ways to get off," he informed bitterly, though not as bitterly as he would have liked since the arrancar on one knee before him started to pull away anything covering his dripping, aching member.

"For us, there is only one way to stop the fever. Everything else is a waste of time," the espada growled and was surprised when his response was met with a nod of vague understanding.

"For me…" Ichigo began without thinking and then knew that if he was going to get that hand that was hovering only millimeters from his cock to actually start fondling him again, he had to continue his thought aloud. "For me, it's about more than that. If I only did that, then the hollow wouldn't have any trouble taking control."

Grimmjow snickered but rewarded the admission with the desired physical contact. He also couldn't help peering dangerously upward through the darkness, eyes occasionally lighting up from what little light was present. That last bit really made him wonder. It had been the hollow portion of Ichigo's personality that he had actually encountered, even though as time passed and he had time to think on it, he would have rathered take soul reaper in his right mind, not that the hollow wasn't conveniently accommodating. It had also been a significant source of jealousy for him that Ulquiorra had gotten to play with the young man in both states.

"Well, it's not like that's the only time we mess around. It's just the most convenient time for it because it's just about impossible to do anything else," he tried to reason.

"Grimm…jaw…" Ichigo nearly pleaded through gritted teeth as he tried not to cum again too easily.

"Hm?" the larger man distractedly prompted. It wasn't that he wasn't paying attention but he had gotten a little hung up on hearing his name spoken like that.

"Suck me off," the young man requested boldly. He didn't really like the idea that Grimmjow felt indebted to him but if it was what was making the sixth espada stay, then his state demanded that he take advantage of that.

The arrancar gave another crude chuckle. He was about to say something mocking when the fingers that were once playing with his messy hair tightened their grip and tried to direct him toward the eager member jutting out toward him. Instead, he ended up giving a rather dangerous growl as he bared his teeth.

The sight of Grimmjow's sharp teeth made Ichigo hesitate. The last thing he needed right now was something like that biting him in his most sensitive area. "If you really wanna help me…that's what you gotta do," he tried to bargain. "If you don't wanna do that, then just let me be."

Seeing the flash of fear in the soul reaper's eyes when he realized how dangerous his request could be made Grimmjow giddy, and the reminder of his debt allowed him to open his mouth and start orally pleasuring the young man, only occasionally threatening to bite him and only to keep him on his toes.

Ichigo really tried not to guide Grimmjow in his oral administrations but his hands were already on the taller man's head and he wasn't about to move them. At the very least, it made him feel some small sense of control, a feeble back-up just in case the espada turned nasty. However, the blue-haired man didn't seem to care, neither fighting nor abiding by the guidance.

The moment that Ichigo's fear of being bitten dissipated, he came again, this time with a barely stifled groan. Much to his dismay, Grimmjow tried to withdraw again after that. "Ah, Grimmjow, don't stop now!" he pleaded, desperately trying to renew the contact that gave him such release.

The espada was still choking down cum when the plea was spoken and the hands on his head really started to try to force him to continue. He could hardly believe his ears or his eyes but found himself continuing nonetheless. After his third orgasm, Grimmjow felt Ichigo's legs starting to give and took a moment to lay him down on the ground before continuing.

The orange-haired teen kicked a little as he was set down but it was only because his partner had to stop servicing him again to accomplish his task. He barely held back a grumble when he realized that Shinji would have been able to set him down without pausing his pleasure. Either way, it didn't matter because the action only took a few seconds and then the aggressive arrancar was back to business, and business was good.

Grimmjow couldn't believe that his young rival was still going strong, but the way he kept saying his name and his little pleas for more when the espada actually found himself starting to tire a bit while the other was still apparently going strong made him continue almost unflinchingly. Shortly after he felt the grip on his hair let up, Grimmjow came up for air.

"How long does this usually last?" he panted.

Ichigo just laughed stupidly. "Are you tired?"

"No, just bored," the espada countered harshly.

That was when something very mischievous dawned on Ichigo. Grimmjow seemed to know nothing of his episodes, only what he could infer from his own experience with the fever, which wasn't much of a comparison to go on. He could tell the obnoxious, abusive hollow anything and he would have to believe it. He laughed again when he realized that was the best way for him to get out of his situation without any painfully intrusive advances from the espada. He sat up a little so he could get a better look in the other man's eyes.

After all that, Grimmjow expected Ichigo to be lazy and lethargic but the sureness of his movements made him second guess himself. He even reeled back a bit to keep a certain amount of distance between them.

"You said you wanted to be even with me," Ichigo reminded.

"So?" he sat up a little taller, becoming just a little more defensive.

"I think that means you gotta do whatever gets me off until I can't cum anymore," Ichigo crudely surmised. "Unless you really don't care about being square on this," he added. It was hard not to laugh with the way Grimmjow was looking at him combined with the insanely contagious laughter of his inner hollow.

"Fine," the teal-haired man agreed, reluctant but still a little excited.

Ichigo couldn't help grinning at how easy it was to get his way. "I'm glad we agree," he giggled as he leaned in for another kiss. When Grimmjow was instinctively repelled by the affection, he simply reached up and grabbed the larger man's collar in one hand to keep him close and used his other to rudely grope the erection that tented out the espada's loose pants.

A gasp later, their tongues parted. "Kurosaki, I never thought you had it in you," he tried not to awe to deeply as a soft, young hand started stroking him.

"A lot has changed since the last time you saw me without pants," was the vizard's response.

"Apparently," the larger man growled as he was once again coaxed downward until his face was even with the teen's engorged length.

Feeling particularly bold, Ichigo started to lay down while continuing to guide Grimmjow. The espada was obviously a little startled that his opponent would rather be on the bottom during their encounter.

"You just want me to blow you?" the teal-haired man rudely surmised taking the length in his hand. The feeling was almost too sensual for the arrancar to handle, especially when the soul reaper's member would jerk and spurt cum all over them.

"For right now, that's all I need," the teen empathetically replied, though the feeling behind it was largely a lie. In reality it was because he had learned that regardless of how much he liked or disliked his partner, to take it as a general rule that the individual with the better sense was to take the lead.

"I'd rather stick my dick in your mouth," he replied almost boastingly.

"I thought you wanted to help," Ichigo chided, even though inside he was giggling at the mistruth. Then, he wondered if he would get to the point where he would truly want Grimmjow inside him again. That would be interesting, but he didn't want to give the other the satisfaction.

Ichigo's insistently bizarre behavior made Grimmjow feel strangely useless. That is, until he noticed the young man's nipples poking out through his t-shirt. Then, he felt like he had something new to try. He didn't waste time with the teen's shirt either, simply slipping his hand beneath the fabric and going straight to pinch and twist the little nubs of flesh that had started to taunt him.

This attention was rewarded by Ichigo's immediately starting to orgasm again. The espada could hardly believe the reactions he was getting from what should have been minimal attentions and couldn't swallow all he was given, allowing a few dribbles of cum to run down his chin.

Grimmjow was better at giving head than he expected, for some reason, but that only fueled his already raging inner fire.

"Shit, Grimmjow," the young vizard swore when his entire member was swallowed for the first time that evening.

The arrancar gave only a pleased grunt in response and then attempted to reach down with his free hand and tease his partner's entrance. He was a little surprised that his motions weren't fought. Rather, Ichigo kept a firm grip on his hair and once he started moving faster, the young man's hips would raise off the ground to meet their target with greater force.

Ichigo couldn't keep from smiling as he watched his most vehement rival try to sate him, and because Grimmjow really didn't know what he was getting himself into; he wasn't pacing himself very well. Before long, he had the teal-haired man leaning on the ground for balance as he relentlessly thrust into him.

Most of the time, Grimmjow just tried to keep his mouth and throat as open as possible as he ran his fingers over the young man's puckered asshole.

Eventually, Ichigo did start to lose steam and Grimmjow wanted to ask if he was nearly finished but thought it would be a sign of weakness and decided against it.

Ichigo's final orgasm, which lasted far longer than Grimmjow was comfortable with, left the teen babbling for a few moments as he pulled his partner close before he promptly passed out.

"K-Kurosaki?" Grimmjow carefully asked as he nudged the body beneath him, limp except for a strangely strong clinging reflex. He received no response. The kid was out cold. With a sigh, he laid down on his side, finding that Ichigo followed his movements to maintain an intimate level of physical contact.

As he laid next to the young soul reaper, trying to catch his breath and gather his bearings, Grimmjow decided that he was going to try his damnedest to keep this encounter to himself. If nothing else, Szayel would want to turn his best opponent into a test subject, which meant that not only would they be kept from fighting but it was likely that he would have to repeat his performance from a few minutes ago, an idea that did not appeal to him. As far as he was concerned, he'd gotten more than he bargained for and that the vizard's insane demands more than made up for their original encounter.

With that decision, Grimmjow felt comfortable with trying to slip away in order to redress and make his way home but fate still had other plans. When he tried to move away, Ichigo only held on with greater unconscious strength. It seemed he would literally have to pry the young man off him when suddenly he spoke.

"Where do you think you're going?" the young man asked in barely a whisper as he pulled himself flush with the taller man's back.

"We're square. I'm goin' home," he informed as he tried to pry the other's hands off his torso.

"Oh, you might be even but you're not going anywhere," he informed in the same hushed voice, this time directly into the espada's ear.

Grimmjow gave an indignant growl and his most earnest effort yet to escape Ichigo's grasp, no longer caring if he hurt the young man in the process, only to be pinned on his stomach with the teen's hard flesh poking at his backside once again. He wasn't sure what was worse, the fact that Ichigo had somehow drained him of his raiestu or that part of him liked what was happening to him. That is, part of him liked it until he managed to turn his head around far enough to look into the vizard's eyes, now black with gold shimmering down at him.

"I-It's you!" he accused.

The hollow laughed at how easy it was to disguise his voice with only a whisper. "Sure is. You know what I want?" he asked haughtily.

"I've got a pretty good idea," Grimmjow tried not to grumble.

"And you're gunna give it to me?" it asked hopefully.

"I don't have much of a choice," the espada replied. Sure, he could have tried to get away and been reasonably successful but he didn't want to be seen as reneging on what he had said earlier or make it look like he was intimidated enough by the hollow to try to make a break for it.

"Sure ya do. Either you give it to me…or I take it. I'll enjoy both but ultimately, the choice is yours," the hollow elaborated as he rubbed his erection between the larger man's ass cheeks.

Before Grimmjow could answer, he felt the body behind him convulse with another orgasm, covering his backside in cum. "Not that I'm complaining…but Kurosaki said we did all that so that you wouldn't get out. What gives?"

The hollow giggled. "Yeah, usually his body's too exhausted for me to take control. I guess you didn't do a very good job," it lied as it came again from the same humping motion, enjoying how slippery the larger man's skin was now that it was coated with sweat and cum. In actuality, it was because of Grimmjow's hollow reitsu that he was able to so easily emerge when his young king lost consciousness.

"He passed out. I think that means I did just fine," the teal-haired espada griped.

"Not that it matters," he groaned. "If you feel indebted to anybody for what happened, you should feel indebted to me. After all, I am the one who was so accommodating to you. King woulda fought you tooth and nail the entire time," he reminded willfully.

"That's still better than the alternative," Grimmjow grumbled. After he spoke, he realized that he did so aloud and that the hollow, whose head was only inches from his own, most likely heard the complaint.

"You mean sad-face?" the hollow presumed. "'Cause he marked you?" he pressed curiously as he pulled the espada's collar down to see if the mark was still there. It was nearly gone.

"You might understand the fever but you don't understand Aizen's stupid hierarchy," he pointed out bitterly.

"I find it hard to believe that even with that mark the sixth espada would have a difficult time finding someone to take advantage of," the hollow scoffed. "I bet you could force yourself on just about anyone else in Heuco Mundo."

Grimmjow grumbled. "I could…if not for the mark."

"Oh, come now, your power is nearly equal to his. The others should fear your wrath as much as his," he pointed out.

"They do, which is why they off themselves as soon as I start to show an interest," he admitted.

The hollow outright laughed at that and then, feeling more than satisfied with their conversation, finally decided to penetrate the body beneath his.

Grimmjow kept his reaction to a quiet growl of pain as he listened to the creature behind him practically howl with pleasure. Briefly, he wondered if they would draw the attention of passersby but quickly dismissed it both because it was so late and because he didn't really care if they were caught. It would be of no consequence to him, though the soul reaper might think otherwise.

"Nnngh, you're so hot…and so tight…no wonder sad-face wants to keep you for himself," the hollow teased between orgasms.

"He doesn't care about that," Grimmjow dismissed through gritted teeth. "He just wants to be a jerk."

The hollow shrugged because he didn't really care. A few orgasms later, he finally reached beneath the arrancar's body and took hold of his erection. "You're all hard. Does getting fucked like this get you off?" he taunted.

Grimmjow gave a grumble of embarrassment because even though what was being done to him still hurt significantly, he did get off on the painful pleasure.

"I'm glad you like the pain," it cooed, reveling in the fact that the other was now pushing back against him. "You gunna cum for me?" it proposed haughtily.

Actually, Grimmjow nearly lost himself when the other started stroking him but somehow managed to hold back, not realizing that it was partially thanks to the hollow behind him. "I could if you'd quit talkin'," he finally retorted.

The hollow gave a satisfied giggle and once again ceased their conversation, focusing on continuing his relentless assault until he started to lose steam.

Just when the hollow's pace started to slow, the pain Grimmjow was experiencing lessened enough for him to lose control of his release, spilling himself on the ground below with a satisfied growl. Part of him had been hoping that would help signal the end of their encounter but he quickly found that while the hollow was slowing, he still had a significant amount of energy left. So, Grimmjow tried to keep his balance as best he could while his muscles tried to relax in spite of the intrusion, which was now the most offensive that it had been yet, but only because he was now spent.

Ulquiorra, who had little interest in Grimmjow's movements did begin to wonder when he caught his teal-haired comrade sneaking into the real world. That wasn't unusual in itself, in spite of their master's warnings, but what was unusual was how long he was taking. Normally, the sixth would get bored quickly and return before anyone noticed he was gone.

So, after asking permission to go looking for Grimmjow, Ulquiorra tore a hole in space and started his search, which didn't last long. At first, he couldn't sense the other espada, which was unusual since their spiritual pressure stood out so blatantly in the reitsu-subdued realm. However, he could feel one very strong reitsu just north of where he'd emerged above Kurakaratown.

It was undoubtedly the orange-haired soul reaper and with the energy of a hollow unnervingly dominating his presence. The hollow's energy in itself wasn't what made Ulquiorra's stomach tense up just a little, it was how well it mixed with that of the soul reaper and human portions of the young man's energy. Putting that thought aside for the time being, he decided to make his way over to the strong spiritual pressure because his comrade would most likely be there.

As he drew closer, he could feel the sixth's reitsu more readily, though it seemed that it was being muted somehow, a thought that both annoyed and delighted him. When he finally arrived, he actually chuckled aloud at what he saw. From above, he could see the young man's back as he moved frantically against the slightly larger body beneath his and a spot of blue hair just above the orange.

He thought that would be enough to get their attention but apparently not, either that or they were just ignoring him. Irked at the suggestion of being ignored, but still excited enough to watch for a bit undisturbed, he slowly lowered to the ground a few meters away.

From his new vantage point, he could see that while the soul reaper was going strong, his comrade had apparently lost steam. His head hung low and his expression appeared more tired than aroused. Moving a few paces to his right showed him that the teal-haired man wasn't even erect, his cock dangling and jerking with every thrust. When the young man's head turned and he cracked an eye, revealing his state of possession, he thought he would be discovered but again they were too immersed in what they were doing to pay him any mind.

He took a moment to feel out their raietsu again. After a few seconds he realized why the sixth espada's spiritual pressure seemed dampened. The one taking advantage of him had absorbed almost half of his energy, using it to supplement and enflame his own.

Only after that did he notice what Grimmjow had discerned almost immediately. The orange-haired young man was experiencing the fever. That revelation made him take a few steps back. If they hadn't noticed him, he wasn't sure if he wanted to be noticed. If they were ignoring him, he finally felt a little better about that. However, he didn't feel like he could just leave, since he'd promised their master that he would return with the sixth espada in tow.

It also didn't feel right to stop them. After all that the soul reaper had been through because of them, he deserved this retribution. That and it was amusing to watch Grimmjow helplessly endure that retribution. However, the hope that they would finish soon, as it was obvious they had been at it for a while, was very quickly dispelled when the pair started to speak again.

"This is getting old," the sixth complained. "Are you almost finished? If I'm gone too much longer, they're gunna send someone to find me," he warned.

"Let'em come. I'll take them as easily as I've taken you," the hollow cackled. "'Sides, this kid is no where near done. I'd be surprised if it was over by this afternoon," he bragged.

Ulquiorra sighed with exasperation and emerged from his hiding spot. "That's not going to work," he informed flatly.

The hollow started to laugh mockingly but it was cut short when he felt Grimmjow's sudden anxiety when his threat was made reality. It caused the laughter to quickly fade into an animalistic groan. The teal-haired espada apparently felt the side effects of that reaction as well because it took almost all of what was left of his self control to keep from groaning with the hollow riding him.

Once he regained some of his bearings again, the hollow spoke. "Don't matter if it works…just how it is," he contested.

The fourth espada glared but it went unappreciated so he turned to his comrade. "Pathetic," he kicked the larger man a little.

Grimmjow's anger made the hollow cum again, drawing even more of the espada's energy from him. "He wasn't like this…when I got here," he tried to argue.

"Tch. That doesn't matter. You're _supposed_ to be better than this piece of trash," he continued to berate.

The hollow moaned again. "Yeah, keep talkin' like that," he growled. "He gets all aggravated when ya talk like that!"

"And you," Ulquiorra turned back to the hollow, "Just cum already so I can drag his worn ass back to Heuco Mundo," he scolded.

The hollow laughed again. "I've cum at least three times since you walked up."

"So what's the hold up?" the green-eyed espada impatiently prompted.

Ichigo's hollow didn't listen. It was too busy trying to figure out ways to get Ulquiorra to taunt Grimmjow some more.

"He just keeps goin'," Grimmjow complained. "But he doesn't need just me. He can have anybody," he tried to explain, hoping the other would take the hint and lend a hand either in sating the young man's desires or helping him escape from them.

"Really..." Ulquiorra pondered the notion for a moment. It seemed absurd but his observations thus far indicated that his comrade was right. "Well," he turned back to the hollow, grabbing him by the hair to pull him upward so he could force eye contact, "if that's the case then I'm going to have to take your partner and make you find another to replace him," he informed flatly.

The hollow gave an indignant growl that only grew as the dead-eyed espada spoke. "No fuckin' way. This bastard owes me, just ask'em," he spat as tried to jerk away, though it was quickly becoming apparent that he wouldn't be able to free his hair without letting go of the body beneath him at least a little.

"I don't care what he thinks and honestly, even if that was the case, he's useless now. You've used him up," he informed disdainfully.

That made the hollow laugh again, this time a deranged giggle. "I know. Ain't it great? He couldn't get away now even if he wanted to," he bragged before finally freeing the grip on his hair. Then, he leaned down over Grimmjow and turned his head as far as it would go so he could see into the larger man's embarrassed and worn features. "But you don't want to, do ya?"

Grimmjow tried not to whimper as he screwed his eyes shut. So much of him wanted his humiliation to end, but there was still something in him that made him want to see this through.

"Maybe 'cause it's never happened before but I think he likes bein' all used up," he taunted.

Ulquiorra wasn't about to give into the taunt but he also wasn't going to let the feverish hollow have his way. He'd already been gone from Los Noches longer than he intended. So, he took the back of Ichigo's collar and tore him off of his comrade, allowing Grimmjow to slump gracelessly to the ground to catch his breath and gather his bearings.

This, of course, made the hollow furious. "Fine! You wanna play too? I'll take you just as easily as I took that bastard!" it screamed as it scrambled to its feet.

The enraged reaction didn't surprised Ulquiorra in the least. However, the amount of energy that now emanated from the young man's body was, at the very least, unnerving. He didn't want to take his eyes off the orange-haired vizard but he had to turn a bit to speak to Grimmjow. "How could you let him take your reitsu like that?" he griped.

"I didn't let'em. He just did it," the teal-haired espada grumbled into the ground as he tried to roll over to see what was going to happen next.

The hollow took that slight distraction to charge forward and tackle Ulquorra to the ground. Neither of them expected it to happen so easily but the hollow was pissed and the fourth espada was more than a little disturbed that the vizard had the ability to steal and use the reitsu of another so easily.

The green-eyed espada landed with a soft oomph sound and immediately felt greedy hands starting to undress him. For some reason, he expected Grimmjow to help him but when he heard a tired chuckle off to his side, he knew that would not happen even if the sixth was up for it. With a grumble of frustration, he tried to push the young man's body off but only managed to roll them over.

"I appreciate your position," Ulquiorra began, "But if you don't specifically need either of us, Aizen is going to send someone to see why we are taking so long. Do you really want to live out the rest of this ordeal on Szayel's dissection table?" he half-threatened.

"I think I could take Pinky as easy as I got either of you," the hollow bragged.

The dark-haired espada grumbled with frustration and then started to form a cero that would hopefully knock the young man out, or at least stun him long enough for them to get away.

Unbeknownst to the pair scuffling on the ground and the larger man laying spent and exhausted nearby, their activities had drawn the attention of others. Fortunately, for Ichigo at least, they were friends rather than more foes.


	2. Rescue Attempt

Shinji sat in a tree a few meters away biting his fingernails. He wanted to help his lover but he wasn't sure how to do so without making the situation exponentially worse. His first instinct was to throw himself into the middle of the fray and pry them apart, but from listening to their disjointed conversation, he had gathered that this was the hollow that had taken the young man's innocence, and he wanted to let his boyfriend have any sort of retribution he wanted. Had he arrived while Ichigo was still resisting Grimmjow, he would have intervened, but his boyfriend was already moaning wantonly for the large dangerous creature sucking his cock when he got there, making him second guess a rescue attempt.

He wondered how long it would last, how far his lover would go with the creature. They were as fascinating as they were unnerving to watch. The espada seemed equally aroused and displeased by the situation and was apparently unwilling to leave. Shinji knew that while the arrancar each had their own set of ethics, but he doubted that there were many who would do what this one was doing.

The comment that a lot about Ichigo had changed since the last time Grimmjow saw him without pants made Shinji cringe a little. Sure, getting the young man to open up and explore his more sensual side had been fun, but he didn't like the way Ichigo made it sound like his experiences up to that point had somehow prepared him to face this 'attacker' again.

Then, he tried not to laugh at the espada's intimidated and incredulous expression after the orgasm that sent Ichigo into unconsciousness. This guy obviously got more than he bargained for, but as far as Shinji was concerned, it was better than he deserved.

He had been hoping that would be his chance, that the espada would make his exit and he could swoop in and reclaim his lover. No such luck. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw those golden eyes crack and the wicked grin just below, and he felt sick to his stomach.

He had waited too long and now that the hollow was out, Shinji could tell that it wasn't a lack of effort on the espada's part that had allowed it. It was the fact that he was an espada and that Ichigo had been too wary of the larger man to give back any of the reiatsu that he had gotten through their exchange. All that pent up hollow energy meant only one thing.

The fact that the espada didn't seem inclined to fight Ichigo's hollow was what made Shinji's hesitation to intervene continue in hopes that they would wear each other out before things got much worse. He prayed that at that point, it would only be a matter of waiting until the espada passed out and stepping in because it was apparent that pulling them apart at this point might be akin to suicide.

He began wishing once again that he had stepped in when he felt another espada level reitsu approach and began to wonder when it stopped about the same distance away that he was hiding, but in a different direction. How many spectators would the unusual couple draw before things were resolved?

That question quickly left his mind when the second arancar approached the pair with the information that it was time for Grimmjow to leave. That made Shinji breath a sigh of relief right up until the dark-haired espada grabbed his lover's collar and forcefully pulled him upward.

He nearly lunged across the distance to prevent his lover from receiving any further abuse at the hands of these two. When the hollow pounced on the second arancar, he did finally take action. He carefully sauntered into the clearing even though drawing any closer than he already had would impair his judgment more than the young man's feverish reiatsu already had.

"Oi," he called as the green cero started to form.

"Boy, I'm popular tonight," the hollow giggled foolishly. "I wonder how many other loves I could call here."

"I'm the last one," Shinji informed seriously. "You know you won't need anybody else after me." He would be extremely exhausted afterward, but he had the capability to make Ichigo spend the hollow reiatsu that kept his consciousness imprisoned.

"Good, I'll get to ya after I'm done with this sweet piece of ass," he boldly reached down and roughly grabbed Ulquiorra's butt with both hands.

The subsequent flinch of the sudden groping almost made Ulquiorra release his cero, but not quite. Instead, he turned his head slightly to look at the man who had just approached. "You want this piece of trash?" he offered.

"I'm here for Ichigo, but I'll take his hollow too, since it's a package deal," he bitterly replied.

Ulquiorra's cero faded and he attempted to get up off the young man.

"I don't think so," the hollow rolled them over again.

"You know he can't really help you. In fact, these two are only making it worse," Shinji chided as he leaned down and started to sensually run his fingers through his lover's fiery hair.

"Not worse. Better. I've never felt so alive!" the hollow raved. "With these two, I could probably go for days!"

The blond grumbled and rolled his eyes. "I don't want to have to fight you about this but either way, you're leaving here with me," he informed flatly.

The hollow, finally sensing the seriousness behind the vizard's voice, frowned. "What I told ya that these were the bastards who raped your precious berry-tan?"

Grimmjow snickered at the word precious but was ignored.

"I know who they are," Shinji snapped, finally tearing the teen's body off the fourth espada. "And it doesn't change anything. I'm not here to satisfy your need for revenge."

"Then why are you here?" Ulquiorra questioned as he carefully put some distance between himself and the vizards.

"To keep Ichigo from doing something he might regret," the blond retorted.

Ulquiorra finished brushing himself off and when it looked like the blonde man had sufficiently subdued the teen, he made his way over to Grimmjow. "Get up," he ordered the larger man before turning back to the vizard. "And for the record, that boy was perfectly willing to be had by both of us."

"At least part of'em was anyway," Grimmjow added bitterly as he stood.

"Just get the hell out of here," Shinji growled. It was getting difficult to hold the hollow back and their continued presence was only making it more difficult.

As the espada left, the hollow shouted, "Yer just lucky this bastard showed up or you'd both be more than used up by the time I was done with ya!" Once they were gone, he leapt upon the blonde vizard. "You had no right to interfere!" he reeled back to punch the older man in the jaw.

The blow was barely deflected. "You know I had to step in. You're lucky I waited as long as I did. I probably should have stopped you sooner," he muttered.

"Perv. How long were you watchin' me pound the hell outta that blue-haired bitch?" the hollow taunted.

"Long enough to know that Ichigo wouldn't regain consciousness with them around," Shinji replied. "Now, where would you like to go?" he diverted.

The hollow eyed the blonde man suspiciously. "I ain't goin' anywhere with a kill joy like you." He turned and started to stalk off. He didn't know where he would go but that didn't matter. All that matter to him at this point was ditching Shinji and finding someone else to satisfy him.

The older vizard grabbed his lover's arm and turned him back around. "I just want to make sure you end up some place safe. I won't stick around if you don't want me to," he regretfully proposed but he had to tear his eyes away a moment later. The young man's reiatsu was almost starting to overwhelm him and he was beginning to regret his decision against at least asking someone to come with him.

With a malicious grin, the hollow lifted the blonde man's chin to force eye contact once again. "Yer pathetic," he spat. "You don't really give a damn about the King. You just can't stay away," he let his espada amplified energy flair and watched the older man's knees nearly give in response.

Shinji felt his stomach turn and his hand fell away from his lover's arm. "Fine, do what you want," he grumbled. He wanted to start stalking away but he was too drawn to the other vizard that he couldn't bring himself to move away.

"Tch, you'll probably just follow me anyway. How is that anyway, being completely addicted to somebody who can't even fathom how you feel?" the hollow continued to taunt. To emphasize his point, he pressed his body against the fair man's, pushing his hip against the other's erection. "Heh, you're even harder than I am."

"I just wanted those guys to leave. Do what you want from here," Shinji cringed as he spoke because even just that rude attention made him want to cum in his pants.

"Really..." The hollow didn't sound convinced, but he was more than willing to test the older man's conviction. He took a slow step away and watched as the blond's body strained to follow him but somehow managed to keep from taking a step forward to follow. "You think you could really do that?" he pressed with a smoldering stare.

The look he was subject to made Shinji feel like he was being undressed with those creepy hollow eye,s and it made him shudder lightly. "If that's what you really want. I know you're piss'd that I let those guys get away, so you probably don't want to see me right now anyway, even if I am the one person who'll do whatever you want."

"What if that's the problem?" The hollow proposed haughtily. He had intended to storm off but leading the other man on was just too much fun to to resist completely.

"What do you mean?" Shinji tried not to snap. He could tell the hollow was messing with him, egging him on with his energy while verbally putting him off.

"I mean, what if i want a less cooperative partner?" he crudely proposed.

Shinji frowned deeply. With a threat like that, he would definitely be compelled to follow the hollow to make sure it didn't cause too much trouble. Then, he found himself laughing a little, though it was dry sad little chuckle.

"What's so funny?" the hollow hissed.

"I was just thinking I could play like that, if you wanted, but that's not what you want, is it?" he grumbled. "Go already...before I jump on you," he dismissed and actually managed to force himself to take a small step backward.

The creature possessing Ichigo's body leered at the fidgeting blond for a long moment. He was still angry about what the man had done, and he wanted him to pay for that transgression. He just wasn't sure the best way to go about that yet. Should he take his anger out on him? Or should he leave him hanging? A moment later, he decided he would try to do both.

He closed the distance between himself and the blond again and pressed their lips together in a crushing kiss. As he expected, he immediately yielded to the advance, melting in his arms. The kiss broke when the hollow roughly grabbed Shinji's erection through his pants, causing him to gasp sharply.

"So, what? You're just gunna tease me?" Shinji managed between panting breaths. At this point, all he wanted was more contact and he didn't care how he got it.

"Nope. I gunna fuck your shit up and ditch your ass," the hollow replied in a snotty voice as he descended to clamp the young man's blunt teeth down on the side of the older vizard's neck.

Shinji gasped again at the painful pleasure. He could tell that the hollow as really out to hurt him and he wondered how far this would go. He was bitten several more times before the hollow grew bored of that and pulled back a bit to see what kind of effect his attentions had. He wasn't disappointed.

Shinji stood, his eyes half-lidded, angry crescent bruises on his fair throat, and his pants bulging.

"Slut. You're practically bursting," he grumbled with disgust then backhanded the fair man.

The older vizard's head turned with the force of the blow. "I guess I like it rough," he taunted.

"We'll see about that," the hollow chuckled darkly before pushing his partner back up against a large tree. One of his hands took the older man's wrist while the other found his throat and immediately started crushing his windpipe.

Shinji was about to fight back when he felt their erections press together once again. Instead, he was left swiming in oxygen deprived pleasure. He gasped and choked for air but couldn't manage to do more than that before he blacked out as he came.

The hollow cackled with delight as the blonde vizard gracelessly slumped to the ground when he let go a moment later. He was just going to leave him like that but decided against it at the last minute. Instead, he drug the unconscious man over to the tall lamp lighting the nearest park bench where he undressed him, using his clothes to tie him to the lamp post as securely as possible.


	3. Forfeit

Another short chappy before things get epic again...

* * *

Shinji awoke a minute later to the stining pain of having his backside whipped with a belt. Before he was even fully conscious, he heard himself crying out in pain. He looked up at the light above him. It felt like he was under a spotlight. As soon as he realized this, he tried to stop crying out and that was what cued the hollow in that his partner was awake.

With a low chuckle, the hollow lifted the fair man's hips until he was standing again, leaning against the lamp post for support. "If you fall again, I'm leaving," he warned as he stepped back and delivered another few belt whips, this time expanding his range to include the man's lower back and thighs.

Shinji cringed and prayed that he could hold out until the hollow spent enough of the espadas' reiatsu to let Ichigo's consciousness emerge. To make matters worse, the abuse wasn't entirely unpleasant, though it should have been. He was too addicted to the young man's energy to keep from becoming arouse by any sort of attention he was provided from the source. It was humiliating but he was very close to passing the point of caring.

When the whipping stopped for a moment for the hollow to survey his prey, he snickered at what he saw. As if the angry red welts on the fair man's back and thighs weren't good enough, when he moved around to the side to get a look at his face, he was distracted by the older man's weeping erection jutting out shamelessly. With a malicious glint in his eyes, he slapped it, watching the beads of cum turn into little strings as they flew off in response to the rude attention.

Shinji whimpered and felt his knees shake, but the only way he was going to allow himself to lose his footing is if he lost consciousness again. What was happening to him shouldn't have felt so damn good, but because it did, he couldn't hide the shame from his features when the hollow took his chin and forced eye contact.

"If I had the time, I'd round up a bunch of drunks to take turns fucking the life outta you," the hollow taunted. "A slut like you'd really enjoy that, right?"

He tried to shake his head 'no' but ended up squeezing his eyes shut instead. That was the exact opposite of what he wanted but at this point, he knew better than to give the hollow ideas. "Do you think Ichigo's going to want to come anywhere near me after this?" he asked in a sad voice.

The hollow sneered and let go of the man's chin to slap his erection again.

"I mean, you used to be supportive, even helpful in a weird way. Did I do something wrong? Has it started raining again?" Shinji continued, unable to keep the hopelessness from his voice. He hadn't factored in the idea that the hollow might continue his abusively aggressive behavior after the espada left and he knew that there was no way that Ichigo would be able to look at him again if this continued for much longer.

"Let's just say that I get bored a lot more easily than the kid...and I realize now that, if you're not handy, he'll put it off for as long as he can, making it even easier for me to exercise my influence. And if he's worried about me, he'll have an even harder time finding someone to help him out before it's too late," he bragged. He knew he was already past the point of no return, that he was completely destroying his host's relationship with this person, but it had been so long since he'd felt so empowered that the feeling was intoxicating. "But look at you. You don't care! You just can't help yourself. If you really wanted to help your sweetheart, you'd've gotten someone else to step in," he accused as he started whipping his lover again.

"You're right," Shinji cried out in anguish. Then, he realized that he might still be able to do that. He could flair his reiatsu and surely someone would find them and put an end to their encounter. Unfortunately, he would have to be more selective than that because he knew that Ichigo wouldn't want just anyone seeing him in such a state of possession, and even if he didn't care about that, he didn't want to subject some of their weaker acquaintances to the kind of wrath he was enduring. If someone like Orihime showed up in response to his urgent energy signature, he would never be able to forgive himself.

As if that wasn't enough, right now he had a a difficult time sensing anybody but Ichigo to focus on. It was like he was surrounded by the teen's reiatsu and even though it was thoroughly tainted with that of hollows, he still felt like he could blissfully drown in it, like there was nothing else in the world. He had to use up some of the espada energy that amplified his lover's before he could even sense anyone else.

"F-..." he nearly pleaded but had to stop himself because just the words on the tip of his tongue made his knees want to give.

The hollow didn't hear the false start over the sounds of breathy panting and leather striking flesh.

"Fuck..." Shinji swore, getting a little further this time.

The hollow understood that as a violent outburst rather than the plea that he was but decided to taunt him some more anyway. "I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Shinji nodded weakly. "Yes, please..." His plea was cut off by another slap to his hardened lengh.

"Tch. Wouldn't be worth it," he dismissed. Then, he tore a piece of his sleeve off and tied it around the base of the older man's erection. "Besides, you're not supposed to be enjoying this. You're the worst victim ever."

The blonde vizard nearly laughed at that. He could never be this young man's victim, no matter what form he took, because he would always enjoy what was done to him. He would have laughed if his head hadn't been smashed against the metal lamp post a moment later. Then he was concentrating on keeping his vision from blurring too much.

Seeing that his his partner was starting to fade, the hollow raked his nails down the fair man's back. Because Ichigo's nails were so dull, it took several tries, but he did manage to make the blonde vizard bleed, and it made him growl with delight. Once he was satisfied with the amount of blood flowing from the crude wounds, he went back to whipping. He loved the way the impact of the belt would cause the little beads of red to spatter in every direction.

This was too much. If he had any chance of having a conversation with Ichigo that didn't solely involve apologies, he had to put a stop to his punishment. His pride and his libido, each for their own reasons, didn't like his solution, but it had to be done. The situation was completely out of his control and there was only one thing left for him to do. With a sigh of both relief and regret, Shinij took a knee.

"Giving up? Already?" the hollow taunted.

"My presence does you no good. Thank you for helping me see that," he bowed his head in hopes of hiding his ulterior motive.

The hollow didn't quite trust the sly blond and wanted one last look in the man's eyes before trusting deprecation. Fortunately for Shinji, his features were tired, his face bruised and bleeding, making his mistruth more believable.

"And here thought I'd have to knock out out again. Well, so long sucker. Can't wait to see what happens after I have to go back," he promised. Sure, it would be raining but at least he would know that he had caused the teen's misery rather than someone else oppressing him. Then, he was gone.

Shinji panted as he slumped to the ground. His first order of business was to break his bindings, which now that his lover's reiatsu was gone, he felt the conviction to do. Gathering his clothes, he skulked off to a more secluded spot to redress as best he could. His shirt and pants were slightly blood spattered and impossibly wrinkled but better than nothing. As he tried to collect himself, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket to blot his bleeding nose, he found his phone.

The question then became, who to call. His first thought was to call his vizard comrades. They would no doubt be able to subdue the rampaging hollow but he knew Ichigo would prefer that they involve as few others as possible and they would no doubt respond as a group. Instead, he called Kisuke, someone that his lover had shown a great amount of trust in more than once.

Shinji didn't realize that part of what let the hollow leave him so easily, and without knocking him out just for good measure, was that Ichigo's consciousness was starting to respond to his lover's desperate reiatsu. He wouldn't have been able to stay much longer without being distractingly berated and fought by the teen, so he was glad that the blond gave in when he did, allowing him to exit without tipping his hand.

The question then became who would be his next victim?

* * *

Two questions: Any suggestions or requests? and How rough is too rough? (I want Ichigo's hollow to be cruel but I don't want to alienate any of you awesome readers.)


	4. Fake

Ichigo's hollow bolted as soon as he was out of the park. He wanted to give the impression of aloofness but only for as long as he needed to. Otherwise, he wanted to move on to other things before his time was up. He was still high on the espadas' reitsu and wanted nothing more than the feeling to last indefinitely. Which meant what he wanted more than anything right then was an easy way to Heuco Mundo. He wanted to find Ulquiorra and use him up just as he'd completely used up Grimmjow. He wanted to discover what kinds of pathetic sounds he could get that man to make when he was on the receiving end.

He knew the smaller but higher ranked espada would put up more of a fight than his counterpart but only because of what he'd seen. The hollow snickered at the idea that the green eyed arancar might have approached him just as easily, thinking they had the same condition, and gotten dragged in over his head. Now that he knew what he was capable of, he would be more cautious, possibly even avoid him. Tracking down the fair-skinned man might be amusing, if frustrating, and the subsequent encounter after he caught up with him would undoubtedly be exciting, full of muscle and teeth.

Unfortunately, he didn't have a good way to get to the hollow realm to get what he wanted and even if he could get there, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't be stopped by something else. As much as he hated to admit it, this was not a state he wanted to encounter Aizen, Gin, or Tousen in. He grumbled with frustration, vowing to finish his revenge at the very next possible juncture. Until then, he would have to find someone else to play with.

He was going to look for Uryu, knowing that young man would not disappoint him in putting up a good fight. Hell, he might even be able to get him to cry a little if he was lucky, but then he saw something that gave him another idea.

Kon was wandering around a few blocks from the Urahara shop. It appeared he was looking for something, but in his limited capacity as a stuffed lion, was becoming very frustrated. The hollow snickered and then swooped down behind the animated plushy. Knowing he'd have to play it just right or risk giving himself away, he allowed the mod soul a brief glance of orange hair as he reached around from behind to remove the soul candy from the stuffed body.

"Ichig-" was as far as the mod soul got before he was trapped in stasis.

The hollow giggled as he carried the candy off, gathering a few supplies before finding a reasonably secluded location. He had to travel longer than he would have liked to reach the outskirts of town, but he knew it would be worth it.

Once he felt fairly secure in his seclusion, he got to work. It took some doing, but he managed to tie himself up with a long, heavy rope. Before binding his hands behind his back, he took a moment to tie a blindfold over his eyes. He knew the knots were too loose to hold even Kon for very long, but all he needed was a head start. Once he exited the human body, he would have a few moments of the other's struggling confusion to tighten them securely. He held the soul candy between his teeth as he worked, swallowing it when he was confident of his ability to keep the human body bound.

Since he was leaning forward onto the ground, the hollow felt himself propelled backward out of Ichigo's human form, putting him in the perfect position to tighten and secure the rope binding it. The hard part at that point was not laughing too much at the futile struggle of the mod soul. He wanted to keep his identity a secret for as long as he could because simply physically torturing the other creature wasn't enough. He wanted his prey to agonize over who was torturing him as well and it seemed to work.

Once Kon realized how limited his movements were and remembered the flash of orange hair he saw before losing consciousness, he found words, not very many but enough to get started with. "Ichigo?" He tugged against the rope. When that didn't work, he tried to move the blindfold by rubbing his head against the ground. That worked momentarily, but only enough to catch a glimpse of soul reaper robes that seemed to confirm his suspicion. "Uugh, what the hell?" he winced as some of his hair was pulled in the effort to keep the blindfold in place. "You know you don't have to do this. You know I'll help you out if that's what you want," he tried to reason. "I'll even try not to look at you, if it really bothers you that much."

All he got in response was a hiss of contempt and his head smashed into the ground. Then, he felt his pants being roughly pulled down. Instinctively, he knew what was coming next and he winced at the idea.

"Oh god, Ichigo, no! Not like this!" he suddenly pleaded when he felt the head of the young soul reaper's cock start to press eagerly against his unprepared entrance, but the pressure didn't cease. "You're only hurting yourself, you know!  
he tried to reason but it quickly turned into a scream of pain as he was penetrated.

Kon tried to take solice in the fact that his suffering was at least helping Ichigo get over his lust driven madness, but it was difficult. The teen had never been so rough with him before, and in spite of the advantage of his daunting strength, he more often opted for emotional and verbal abuse than physically harming the mod soul. However, it was difficult to be forgiving with as harshly as he was being abused. He had offered himself up freely for Ichigo to take advantage of during his episodes, but that was only because he knew he would never get treated like this. At least, he thought he knew that. Now he was starting to question everything he knew about the young vizard.

When he felt warm fluid start to drip down his thighs, he found the will to complain again. "Uugh! Ichigo! This really fuckin' hurts!" he griped through gritted teeth, earning a growl in response.

He didn't realize he was starting to cry until the cloth over his eyes started to stick to his face with moisture. After that, he tried to not let his aggressor hear his sniffling and sobbing, mostly as a matter of pride.

That lasted until someone who could actually stop them came along to interrupt.

* * *

Urahara and Hachi knew that their best advantage at this point was the element of surprise and they used it as best they could. First Hachi set up a nearly invisible box of energy around the pair. When the hollow impulsively reacted to that by releasing his captive in anger, Urahara cast his own binding kido on just him. It was one of the strongest he knew because he didn't want to waste time.

When the hollow became bound, he screamed in frustration and futilely struggled, falling prone to the ground in a fit of rage.

As soon as Kon heard the hollow's near screech, he realized that he had made the wrong assumption about his attacker, and this time he he was allowed the movement to push up the blindfold to confirm his suspicions. While somewhat comforted, he felt like an idiot for his mistake. He was pulled out of his thoughts by a kind and worried voice.

"Kon, are you okay?" Urahara asked carefully as he approached. He was all but ignoring the hollow possessed teen now that he was at least momentarily incapacitated, even if he was incredibly noisy.

"K-Kisuke," the mod soul sighed with relief.

Seeing that his creation was at the very least, dazed, the shopkeeper set to untying him and using his handkerchief to clean up some of the blood and cum that had started to run down his thighs. "Hachi is going to carry you back to the warehouse where you can be properly healed."

"What about-?" he looked over at the struggling form a few feet away.

"I will be taking him back to the shop with me," he informed bitterly.

Before Kon could reply to that, he was scooped up by the large vizard and carried off.

"You're even worse than blondie!" the hollow screamed at Urahara as he watched the other two leave.

"If by that you mean I have absolutely no intention of letting your run a muck with me, or anyone else for that matter, then you are correct," the blond replied in a dark voice before closing the distance between them.

The hollow had a smart reply to that but that was quickly forgotten when the older man started to beat him with his cane. At first, it only served to fuel his rage, but he was still too deep in his condition to completely resist taking some pleasure from the attention. The last thing he wanted, now that he was incapacitated, was to be ignored.

When it became apparent that the hollow wasn't going to put up a fight anymore, Urahara slung him over his shoulder and started home. He chose that method both because it was convenient and because it made it impossible to see the young man's face. He knew he would have to make eye contact eventually, but he needed a moment to consider what was to be done now that he'd gotten the chance to gauge the hollow's temperament.

The hollow couldn't find it in himself to argue with how rudely he was handled, not necessarily because he enjoyed that kind of treatment, though he undoubtedly did, but because he eventually settled into a position where he could rub his erection on the older man, even if it was just his shoulder.

The shopkeeper tried to ignore the bizarre humping motion and was successful until the creature spilled the young man's seed down the front of his shirt, as he had not bothered to redress Ichigo's body.

"Knock it off," the blond ordered in a low, warning voice as he held tighter, hoping to limit their friction.

Though he couldn't exactly rub himself on the other man anymore, the hollow quickly found himself cumming from the extra pressure around his hips. It made him laugh giddily. "It's not like I can just stop," he taunted. "What're you gunna do with me anyway?" he inquired, trailing off a bit at the end as he let his imagination get the better of him.

"You will see," Kisuke replied in an even voice. "And I know you can reel it in at least a little better because I've seen Ichigo do it."

The hollow scoffed at the comparison. "All he has are inhibitions. I have no inhibitions. I do as I please!" he boasted.

"If that is the case," the blonde man sighed as he stepped into his front door, "then you will be even easier to deal with than I anticipated."

"What's that supposed to mean?" the creature hissed in spite of having just been dropped onto the hardwood floor of the shopkeeper's bedroom.

"I can't believe Ichigo let himself get caught up with those espada again," the older man diverted as he began searching through a large trunk that rolled out from beneath his bed.

"That blue-haired bitch wanted it! And so did his sad-faced lover!" he boasted, craning his neck to see what was going on. The sudden loss of contact nearly had him rolling and flopping on the floor rather pathetically and their conversation was the only thing keeping him from doing anything more than rolling onto his stomach and grinding his hips against the floor.

"I don't pretend to understand their intrests. Ah, there it is," the shopkeeper almost smiled when he found the extra-dimentional doorknob. "I do, however, think I understand Ichigo fairly well and I thought he knew better than that."

The hollow laughed and then came a little at the second-hand memories of Grimmjaw coming on to his host earlier that night. "He waited too long...and was too afraid to spend any of the delicious reiatsu they gave him," he snickered between moans.

After sticking the knob into the wall next to his bed, Kisuke turned and took another long look at the writhing body before him. This was going to be an interesting challenge, that was certain. "I realize that. And Shinji, in spite of whatever good intentions, did not help things at all by trying to stop you himself. He should have known better as well," he grumbled and then watched the young vizard's hollow eyes roll as he came again, likely at the memory of abusing the addicted blond.

"He couldn't help himself," the hollow giggled. "Too bad the King won't understand that that's exactly why his...boyfriend," he had to practically spit out the word, "enjoyed it as much as he did."

Kisuke didn't respond to that. Instead, he scooped up the young man's body and carried it into the strange room. Had the hollow been in a better mind to notice, it was largely the same as the last time Ichigo had been there but with a few alterations.

"This set-up wasn't designed for you, so it's going to take me a moment to get things ready," the shopkeeper distractedly replied as he set the feverish body in his arms onto the silken bed.

"This is torture... This can't be good for this body," the hollow complained as just the painfully soft sheets against his exposed skin made him lose himself again. "You gotta let me go or the kid's brain's gunna be totally fried!" he threatened but to no avail. Another minute later, he tried again. "Do you even know what you're doing?" he challenged.

Kisuke wasn't about to answer that. Although he had assisted in incidents similar to this in the past, namely the hollow personality of a vizard running amok for a while, he knew that this was something different. None of his other friends had had their reiatsu so thoroughly amped up by that of a full hollow, let alone two very powerful hollows. He knew the trick would be finding a way to allow the teen to quickly regain full consciousness but with an approach that, at the very least, wouldn't damage the young man any more than he already was.

"Are you at least going to fuck me?" he tried a third time as he was flipped onto his back and his right arm forcefully extended. He gave in without thinking until he craned his neck to see why. Then, he tried to fight but as soon as he resisted, there was a skillful hand on his cock, making him cum again as his left hand was fastened to the adjacent bedpost just as easily as the right. "I'll tear this whole bed apart if I have to," he growled ineffectually.

Again the verbal protests were ignored. Kisuke removed the soul reaper socks and shoes, tossing them to the side and fastening the young man's ankles to the other two bed posts. This left the hollow spread-eagle across the soft bed with the majority of his clothes technically still on but so loose that he might as well have been naked. He expected the older man to pull back to survey his work so far but that was not the case. Instead, he felt the kido binding around his torso dissipate.

Instinctively, he struggled for his freedom once again but found his new physical bindings equal to the kido from moments before. It was about to fly into another rage of denial when long dexterous fingers start to tickle his sides. He continued to trash but now the moments were involuntary.

"Ah! Ah-ha-ha! Wh-Wha-What are y-you doing?" the hollow demanded between fits of giggles.

Kisuke didn't answer. He was too busy trying to find all of the most ticklish spots on Ichigo's soul form. It wasn't long before the creature could barely breathe.

The hollow tried to protest, but it would no longer come out between his forced laughter and his gasping and sputtering for breath. The shopkeeper was making him incredibly angry, but there was nothing he could do about it except try to shout and glare threateningly. On top of that, even the tickling sensations on his most vulnerable areas was enough to make him come, making it even more difficult to resist.

The hollow managed to speak one more time before he passed out from lack of oxygen. "At this point, it doesn't matter if I go back. I've had a taste of pleasure and I will stop at nothing to taste it again," he vowed between jagged breaths.

Kisuke gave a little sigh of exasperation as he finished the rather easy work of knocking the hollow out and congratulated himself silently as he his young friend's body went lax in his lap. He sat with him for a long moment after that, then nudged the orange-haired teen to make sure he was really out. He was just about to reach into his pocket to call Hachi to see how Kon as doing when he heard a mocking snicker.

"Nice try, old man, but you ain't gettin' rid of me that easy!" the hollow bragged.

"Why are you being so suborn?" the shopkeeper asked as evenly as he could. "What you want is gone now, so why don't you just go back where you belong?"

"King's too scared to come back out to face the consequences of his inaction," he haughtily replied. "Now, we both know that you're not going to let me enjoy this any more than you have to, so why don't we get this over with?" he proposed, licking his lips.

Kisuke frowned. "Ichigo is not responsible for your actions," he informed seriously, hoping he was also speaking to the young man hiding behind his hollow half.

"Sure he is. If he had taken better care of himself, none of that would have happened," the hollow crooned. "So come on. Since I am momentarily incapacitated, it's your move. You know you can't neglect me for too long," he rolled his hips upward.

"No, I suppose not," the shopkeeper gave a noncommittal shrug and slipped out from around the teen's body. "But I don't have to be the getting you off either," he added casually.

"Oh? I suppose you're smart enough to know when you've got more than you can handle. Who've you got in mind?" he nearly growled but received no answer. His captor simply left the room and started rummaging around in his closet. It took several minutes for him to return with several pieces of a larger object in both arms.

"You know, they teased me when I first made this," Kisuke mused as he started assembling his contraption.

"What is that? What are you doing? Get back here!" the hollow protested as he started pulling at his restraints again.

"I think this might just be the perfect thing for you," the blond bragged mostly to himself.

As the pieces started to fit into place, the hollow had a sinking feeling in his stomach. It was quickly becoming apparent that the device in question was going to be his partner for the rest of his episode.

It only took another few minutes to get the device assembled before Kisuke returned to the bed. He didn't bother to explain his creation as he fastened it around the young man's waist.

The hollow nearly came again when he felt the front, sleeve-like portion slide down around his borrowed cock. When he did lose himself, right after the light suction was turned on, he threw his head back in pleasure and felt something start to push against his backside. It squirted a thick, warm liquid onto his crack before forcing itself inside.

Only when everything was securely in place did Kisuke stand back with crossed arms and a critical look in his eyes as he surveyed his captive. Since he hadn't bothered to explain the device, he wanted to see the creature's earnest reactions.

For a long time, the hollow kept his eyes screwed tightly shut, if only as a reflex of orgasm, but when he did finally managed to open them and look down to examine the contraption fastened around his groin, he saw that the fluid lubricating the penetration of his backside was actually his own cum being sucked from his cock, through a short, clear tube, and through the length inside him. As his hips bucked uncontrollably, he noticed that the pace at which he was penetrated mirrored his own thrusts.

Seeing realization dawn on the hollow's features made Kisuke speak. "Do you like it?"

"It's like...I'm fucking myself..." he moaned.

The shopkeeper gave a pleased nod and left, returning with some tea and his pipe. He needed a few minutes to relax, but he knew better than to leave his guest alone for too long. The hollow didn't seem to care.


	5. Broken

The hollow passed out within the hour, leaving Kisuke practically holding his breath to see which personality would emerge next. Fortunately, the hollow had finally spent all of the espadas' reiatsu and was content to remain unconscious, leaving Ichigo in charge of his own body once again. It took him several long minutes to gather the courage to open his eyes after being forced back to the forefront of his consciousness, and when he did, he had to blink a few times to clear his vision.

"Ah, good, you're back," the shopkeeper greeted in a neutral tone.

Ichigo, though worn, felt panic shoot up his spine. "Uh, yeah, I guess I am," he muttered as he realized he was still bound.

"How do you feel?" the older man asked in a clinical voice.

The teen averted his eyes from the approaching figure. "Like shit," was his bitter reply.

"I mean physically," Kisuke corrected. "Is your episode over?"

He took a moment to stop and think about that before replying. "Yeah, it's over. Whatever this thing is," he moved his hips a little for emphasis, "it did the trick."

The shopkeeper gave a nod of approval and removed the device from the young man's groin. Then, he turned to leave, "I have a few phone calls to make. I'll return shortly to check on you."

"Wait! The hollow's gone! He's not coming back! You can untie me!" Ichigo began to rave.

"The hollow may be gone, but I'm not prepared to let you go just yet. Please, be patient with me," he requested before leaving and shutting the door behind him. What he had to do now had the potential to be far more difficult than dealing with the vizard's hollow personality.

Once alone, Ichigo tested his bindings, knowing in his heart that he wouldn't be able to break them. Then, he sagged limp against the soft bed wishing that he'd been cleaned up a little better and maybe redressed before being abandoned. But those thoughts didn't last long because his real trouble wasted no time in practically slapping him in the face. How was he ever going to face Shinji or Kon again? The answer was, he wasn't going to face them again. With any luck, he'd be able to leave them alone, let them heal without throwing salt on the wound by trying to apologize. Maybe someday, they would be able to forgive him. Though, he knew he'd never just be Ichigo to either of them again.

His stomach turned when he realized that Shinji, at least, wouldn't let him do that. The blonde vizard would no doubt want to hash things out, try to make him feel like everything was okay, when it clearly wasn't. He would have to break things off, not realizing that thought made him start to cry. When Shinji told him all those long months ago that their relationship wouldn't last forever, he didn't want to believe him. He'd finally found somebody who understood what he was going through, who could sympathize with him. Now that was ruined. Even if Shinji said he could forgive him, he would never be able to forgive himself.

Then there was Kon, the mod soul who had taken so much abuse from him in the past and now this. Sure, he'd been abusive to his roommate on occasion but anymore, it was more in good fun than out of genuine frustration. Actually, they had started to get along a lot better once Kon started staying at Urahara's a couple nights a week because it kept them from spending too much time together. Now Ichigo wouldn't be able to look at him without the painful and disjointed memory of the hurt he'd caused.

He tried to scold the hollow, berate him for behaving the way he did. Even if it'd wanted rough sex, both Shinji and Kon would have willingly obliged. But no, the demon had to make it real punishment, the kind that whited out a person's vision, caused genuine screams of and anguish, and made his victims hate themselves as well as him. However, his darker self was sufficiently and pleasantly unconscious, more than pleased with his exploits.

Ichigo had just decided that when Kisuke returned, he would thank him for the rescue. Being submissive to his hollow half had been unbearable and he was grateful that someone had been able to finally put an end to it. But the shopkeeper was on the phone when he returned, giving vague responses to the person on the other side before quickly agreeing to see them soon.

"You're still awake," the blond noted as he approached, slipping his phone into his pocket.

"Uh, yeah, I wanted to thank you for rescuing me. I can't believe I let that happen," the teen deprecated.

"It was an easy mistake to make. I can understand how you'd be worried about giving back any of the intense energy you were receiving from that arancar," he eased carefully but when Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief, he continued. "What I can't understand is why you didn't re-assume control when I gave you the opportunity to earlier."

The room grew very quite as Ichigo looked away. "I-I was scared, afraid to face anybody," he admitted after a long moment. "Kisuke, how am I ever going to face Shinji or Kon again?"

"I've already taken care of that for you," the older man chided as he inspected the vizard's restraints.

"How could you-?" Ichigo tried to fathom what could have been said or done in such a short time that things might be better.

"I was just on the phone with Kon. He and Shinji are on their way over right now, so you don't have to worry about avoiding them or anything like that," he elaborated.

"What?" the vizard suddenly panicked and started pulling on his restraints. "You had no right to do that! Let me go!"

"Perhaps after you speak with them, you will thank me again," the shopkeeper chided.

"You can't do this! Not just for me, but Shinji too! He's not supposed to be near me at all right now!" he continued to argue.

"I'm afraid that the damages you caused will only get worse if you put this off. I realize that seeing you like this will make him a little out of it, but you need to talk about this before it has a chance to fester," he assured.

Ichigo continued to fruitlessly argue until his two victims arrived and were escorted back to where he was being kept.

When they entered the strange extra room, Shinji immediately turned on heal and walked right back out.

"Damn you, Kisuke! Couldn't you have at least dressed him? Are you trying to make this even more difficult than it already is?" Ichigo heard his boyfriend rave as he watched Kon slowly approach the bed, his brows furrowed and a contemplative set in his jaw.

"I-I am so sorry-" the teen tried to apologize but was cut off.

"Shut up for a minute," Kon quietly requested as he took the liberty of trying to make the young man as decent as possible. "I didn't know it wasn't you," he said as he finished tying the white sash. "Only after Kisuke came did I realize that it was the hollow. I was so stupid to let him trick me like that," he muttered. "I know you'd never do anything like that."

Ichigo felt his stomach turn. "Don't say stuff like that. It was my fault."

Just as Kon was about to protest, Shinji, seeing that his boyfriend was now dressed even if he was still incapacitated on a luxuriously comfortable bed, intrupted. "Damn right it is! How could you do that with one of them?" he spat from across the room,

"I was stupid, okay? I waited too long and then Grimmjaw approached me. I tried to get away from him, at first, but he was so persistent...my hormones got the better of me. I couldn't resist," the teen shamefully replied. "Wait, that's why you're mad?"

"Everything after that was my fault," Shinji informed curtly. "I know you wanted revenge, but none of that would have happened if you hadn't screwed around with that arancar."

A deep frown set on Ichigo's mouth at those words. "None of that was your fault," he argued. "I should have been stronger...and smarter. Then it wouldn't have taken control, or if it did, I would have been able to push it back again."

The blonde vizard gave a placating smile in response. "You think you're so special and you are, but not as special as you think. We've all had our hollow side come out like that."

"Really?" Kon gasped lightly, finally pulling his eyes from the teen to look at the man still standing in the doorway.

"Some more than others and only within the first few years," Shinji replied clinically.

"So you knew this would happen?" Ichigo accused.

"Not at all. Actually, I happen to think you're pretty special too, so I was sort of hoping it wouldn't happen to you. I guess we're not so different after all," he mused, finally letting himself smile.

Ichigo's stomach sank again. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. He liked the idea that he had more in common with his boyfriend than he'd originally estimated, but he wished it was something else. Finally, he shook his head. "Okay, well, I guess I'm not a total failure then."

"Good. Now, can I go?" Shinji impatiently prompted. He was trying to fidget too much and was avoiding actually looking at his boyfriend.

There was a long awkward silence before Ichigo spoke. "Uh, yeah, one more thing, though, okay?"

Shinji winced a little and nodded. "Sure, what is it?"

"I don't think we should see each other anymore," the teen replied as resolutely as he could manage.

"Yeah, it's gunna be forever before we can even hang out again," the blonde vizard almost laughed.

"No, I mean..." Ichigo trailed off. He'd never had to do anything like this before.

Shinji's heart nearly stopped. "You mean...?" he prompted in a slightly strangled voice.

"Ichigo," Kisuke cautiously interrupted, giving a look that urged the teen to carefully consider what he said next.

"I mean at all," the young man reluctantly elaborated.

"You're breaking up with me?" Shinji asked skeptically.

"I-I guess so," Ichigo weakly confirmed.

The blonde vizard scoffed. "No, you're not. If someone should be doing the breaking up here, it should be me, and I'm not letting you off the hook that easily."

"Which is why I have to do it. You're not thinking straight right now," the teen argued a little more confidently than he expected.

Shinji's expression suddenly turned from tense amusement to outright anger. "We'll see," he turned on heal and stormed off.

Kisuke shook his head in exasperation while Kon stared on in shock.

"If I knew that's what you were going to do, I wouldn't have let you talk to him," the shopkeeper scolded.

"What were you thinking?" Kon questioned harshly when he turned back to the prone teen.

"It had to be done," Ichigo vowed. "And as for you, we need to find a better arrangement. You can't live like this forever. Kisuke," he turned to the shopkeeper. "You could make a faux body for Kon, right? So he doesn't have to rely on me to have a life?" he proposed.

"Then who would take care of your body and family?" Kon interjected.

"I'll worry about all that. It shouldn't be your responsibility," the teen argued. "Now, I'd really like it if you untied me. I should probably get home before someone notices how long I've been gone."

Kisuke wasn't quite ready to release his young friend, but at this point, he had little choice. "Fine. I just hope you can live with what you've just done."

"This is my way of making sure none of that happens again," Ichigo spat.

The shopkeeper gave up on arguing. It had been a long night and what was done was done. He only hoped that he'd successfully minimized the damages.

As he left, Ichigo was so caught up in his own thoughts that he'd just stepped onto the sidewalk when he realized that Kon was following him. With a sigh, he turned to face the mod soul but didn't quite manage eye contact.

"I should probably take my body back," the teen proposed in a quite voice.

Kon frowned. "Probably but I know what's going to happen to me after that and I don't wanna get shoved in your pocket right now," he replied a little more bitterly than he intended. "Get me my plushy and then I'll give your body back."

Ichigo tried not to grumble. Before last night, he would have just taken it back by force, now just the idea of that nearly made him sick. "Fine," he agreed.

The mod soul followed the young vizard until they were about a block away from his home, at which point he wanted while Ichigo snuck inside and got plush lion in order to properly make the exchange.

Then, to the teen's surprise, Kon hopped up onto his shoulder when he started to head back.

"Are you sure you don't want to go back to Kisuke's for the night?" Ichigo carefully proposed.

"I'm a guest at his house. Right now, I just want to go home," he resolutely replied.

"Oh..." the young man replied with a sigh before sneaking back inside. He was so tired that he only changed into a pair of pajama pants because his clothes were so dirty.


	6. interim

Ichigo thought he was in the clear until about a week later, he received a text message from Shinji. It was three words. "This isn't over."

The message came during dinner and he checked it without thinking, even though he knew his father disapproved of using electronics at the table. With a grumble, he flipped his phone shut again.

"What's the matter?" Ishin asked. He was about to scold his son for disobeying his no electronics request until he saw how distressed he was by the message.

"It's nothing," the young man dismissed.

"Was it Shinji?" Karin carefully pressed.

"Yeah," Ichigo sighed and looked away, poking at his food.

"Haven't seen him around in a while. Something happen between the two of you?" Ishin asked, obviously concerned.

"You could say that," he muttered. He didn't really want to talk about it, but he wasn't up for lying either.

Karin nodded. She had been wondering why her brother had been so depressed lately. Other than that, they let it go, that is, until after dinner. Ishin followed his son out when he was taking out the garbage so they could speak privately.

"What happened?" he asked. "Did he break up with you?" he cautiously presumed.

"Not quite," Ichigo laughed sadly. "I broke up with him."

It took everything Ishin had not to smile at that. He wanted to tell Ichigo that he'd made the right decision. "How come?"

"I did something stupid. I hurt him," he admitted shamefully.

Ishin's suppressed smile turned into a grim frown. It was not like his son to hurt others. "What happened?"

"I don't really wanna talk about it. Let's just say it was something that we can't just get over," he tried.

"So...if that message was from him, can I assume that he disagrees?" he presumed.

"He's not ready to see me again yet, but he just told me that it's not over," the son informed in a quite voice. "Dad, how am I going to be able to face him? He shouldn't even be able to face me after what I did," he added with a grumble.

"Would you like me to talk to him?" he offered, then wondered if he would have kept his ignorant facade a little stronger by offering to speak with the boy's parents. It didn't seem to phase his son, so he pushed that thought aside.

"Oh, no, you don't have to do that. I feel like this is sort of something that I have to handle on my own. I was sort of the one who insisted that we were dating," he admitted.

Ishin gave a wry grin. He'd had the feeling that was the case. "Alright, but the offer stands, okay?" he tried, patting his son on the shoulder.

"Thanks, dad," Ichigo sighed. His father's hand was heavy but it felt good, secure somehow.

After that, they went back inside and retired for the evening. When he was sure his children wouldn't overhear, Ishin made a phone call to someone he usually regretted calling.

"Hello?" Kisuke answered pleasantly.

"Hi, it's Ishin," the father grumbled.

"Ah, hello. To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked, forcing the pleasantry in his voice to the point where it was mocking.

Ishin grumbled. He was hoping not to play these games. "It's Ichigo...and Shinji," he had to practically spit the other former captain's name out.

"What about them?" the shopkeeper asked, the amusement fading from his tone.

"I don't know what Ichigo did, and I'm not sure I want to, but Shinji needs to leave him alone. He's just a boy, and he needs to be allowed to move on. He doesn't have the time or the energy to waste on this kind of drama," he nearly blurted out.

"Why are you telling me this?" the blond almost growled with annoyance.

"Because I want you to relay a message. Tell Shinji to leave my son alone," he threateningly ordered.

"Why not tell him that yourself?" Kisuke countered.

"Because if I see him, I'll probably do something I'd regret," he admitted bitterly.

The shopkeeper laughed a little. "Fine. I will pass along your message. Anything else?"

"No. Good night," the father curtly replied before hanging up.

It was several months before Ichigo saw or heard from Shinji again, giving him time to start the healing process without interruption. Even when he was contacted, it wasn't directly and he still had to take care of himself in the meantime.

* * *

A several months later...

"Ah, Kurosaki, what a surprise," Kisuke wryly greeted when the feverish teen entered his shop one hot summer afternoon. He had a feeling he would be the outlet of the young man's first episode after encountering the espada.

"Uh, yeah, hi," the teen replied nervously.

The blonde man confidently strode up to his guest and took a moment to look him over and feel him out. "Once again, it appears that you've waited longer than you should to take care of yourself," he scolded.

"I-I know. I'm sorry. Please help me," he pleaded a little more desperately than he intended.

Kisuke made a tisk-tisk sound. He tried to sound playful but he was actually quite annoyed. "I will help you," he agreed.

Ichigo sighed with relief. "Thank you so much," he nearly hugged the older man. "You won't have to do much," he assured.

The blond cocked an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that? You are usually quite intensive," he teased.

The teen pursed his lips and looked away shamefully. "I-I want to use that device, the one you put on me last time to make the hollow go away."

With a disappointed frown, the other man replied, "That is not a possibility."

"Why not?" Ichigo's head snapped back up to look at his friend with disbelief. "I didn't break it, did I?"

Kisuke chuckled. "You underestimate the quality of my craftsmanship. I won't let you use it because that is not what it is for. I won't allow it to be used to avoid the deep connection that you make with others during this time," he informed seriously. "I understand it's very tempting, but it is the beginning of a very dangerous path. I know you tend to err on the side of being self-destructive, but that would be too much."

That made Ichigo angry and he nearly lashed out at the older man. "Just this once. I want to let go without worrying about hurting anyone else." He practically shook the blond.

"I won't let you hurt anyone," the shopkeeper assured as he tried to lead the young man back to his bedroom. "Come along. We really don't have time to waste."

Ichigo wanted to argue but the way the older blond was looking at him made his feet move without consulting his overheated brain. He even breathed a sigh of relief when he entered the bedroom and felt the rush of cool air from the air conditioner. It pushed some of the haze from his thoughts. "Please reconsider. Just this once. I don't think I'm ready to go back to the way things were," he begged, then grumbled, "if that's even possible."

"Now you're underestimating yourself," he praised, closing the distance between their bodies as he closed the door behind them. He could feel heat and raietsu radiating from his young friend. "And if you continue to press this issue, I will bind you again."

Ichigo swallowed hard. That was not his favorite idea. "Perhaps that would be best," he regretfully conceded.

Kisuke gave a sigh of exasperation but pulled his young friend in for a passionate kiss just the same. "If you can't trust yourself, trust me," he ordered between kisses.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't," the teen snapped and when he saw the exasperated look on his old friend's face, he gave a grumble of frustration before pushing him down onto the bed and climbing on top of him. He was done talking, at least for the time being. The shopkeeper's verbal traps were more than enough for him when he was in his right mind. In a state like this, they were impossible to deal with.

The blond gave a startled sound as his back bounced on his soft mattress, but it was quickly muffled when strong young lips crashed down against his own. There was no fighting this young man, not that he wanted to, rather he was interested to see what Ichigo would do when left to act on his own will and instincts.

Had Ichigo been in the mind to consider how things were happening, he would have thanked Kisuke for letting go of the games for even just a little while, but as usual, he was too stuck in his own head for that. So, instead he said, "I'm sorry that I only ever come to you as a last resort," he apologized as he pulled away the older man's shirt to nip at his neck.

Kisuke shuddered not only because it felt sinfully good but because it was so easy to allow himself to give in to those feelings. "It's quite alright."

The assurance caught Ichigo off guard, and he pulled back just a bit to look his friend in the eye. "You're just saying that. I know that at the very least I'm an inconvenience for you."

That was an understatement. Ishin wouldn't think twice before trying to kill him for messing around with his son. He told himself later that he would have put a stop to the young man's antics if he considered Ichigo any less of a friend than his father, which was not the case. "Don't be like that. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it. You know I greatly value our time together," he half-scolded but Ichigo didn't resume. "Why are you hesitating?"

Ichigo looked away. There had been something else on his mind. He chuckled a little when he realized that he should have known his distraction would be noticed by this man. "What's your hurry? You always want to take your time," he teased, gently rubbing his hand up the older man's thigh but never quite making it between his legs.

Kisuke gave his guest a sly look. "You were thinking about him, weren't you?" he accused playfully as he reached a hand down to carefully rub the young vizard's hardness through his strained slacks.

The teen quirked an odd look as he groaned from the forward physical contact. It took him a moment to he realize who the shopkeeper was talking about. Even after that, he took several more seconds to respond as he came to terms with the fact that he hadn't thought seriously about Shinji for probably a couple of days now, not to mention while someone else was rubbing his cock. He gave a nervous laugh. "Ah-ha well, no not really."

That response earned a pause of it's own because while the blond was expecting a denial, he was not expecting a genuine one. "I'm sorry I brought it up," he half muttered with an odd tone of astonishment. "So what's on your mind?" He questioned as his hand maintained enough pressure to assure his partner that though he wasn't going to continue just yet, he also wasn't going to back off.

"I-I was wondering if it would be rude to ask you a favor at this point," he admitted bashfully.

Kisuke had no idea what was about to be asked of him, but the slight air of embarrassment that lit up his young friend's features made his cock twitch in his pants, something that Ichigo, thankfully, didn't seem to notice. "You can ask for whatever you like. It's only rude to get upset if I cannot oblige you," he managed.

"I was hoping you'd help me get rid of this extra hollow energy," he replied as confidently as he could manage.

Kisuke smiled. It pleased him that the orange-haired boy before him seemed to finally be able to pick up on these things on his own. "Naturally," he replied easily as he finally pulled away in such a slow, sly way that Ichigo's body strained to follow him. Before the younger man knew what was happening, the blonde had slipped away and was headed for the door. Just when he saw that the vizard was about to follow him off the bed he stopped. "Why don't you strip down while I get a few things?"

Ichigo's heart skipped a beat. He was torn between the instinct to follow the older man and possibly pin him to the ground to prevent further separation and doing as he was told out of a sense of guilt for asking the favor in the first place. When he saw the twinkle in the shopkeeper's eye, the mischievous one that usually signaled that he was being toyed with, at least a little, something in him snapped.

Before either of them knew what happened, Urahara was face down on the hard wood floor of his bedroom with a very determined young man settling in behind him. He opened his mouth to speak but whatever words were about to come out turned into a gasp as his pants and underwear were roughly pulled down to his knees. Only when the force behind him relented, so that Ichigo could remove enough of his own clothing to proceed, did he gather enough breath to speak.

"Ichigo," he interjected but was cut off.

"No talking unless you're going to tell me no, okay?" he requested in a husky voice.

Kisuke looked over his shoulder to get a better look at his partner, and seeing how much rosier his skin had become, the sweat running from his brow, and that apologetically lustful face, he gave in. He gave a simple nod of confident agreement before turn back around, accepting that he was going to be at the brunt of the previously mentioned hollow energy before being given a chance to extract it properly.

Ichigo shuddered in awe at the older man's willing submission and then again when he pressed his length against the puckered opening that practically called to him. However, much to the shopkeeper's surprise, the younger man didn't force himself in. Rather, he took his own length into hand and started rubbing the head of his cock into the other man's skin, using the rivulets of precum as starter lubrication.

The shopkeeper barely suppressed the moan that the rough but minimal attention stirred in him. In fact, he was concentrating so hard on that act of will power that there was none left over for when Ichigo suddenly grabbed his erection. His uncontrolled reaction caused a pleased growl from the vizard behind him and a moment later, he felt the length teasing between his cheeks convulse and a warm goo splatter all over his backside.

That was when Ichigo did something neither of them expected and had he not just decided to let go of his remaining inhibitions, he might have been able to stop himself. Regardless, a moment later, he pulled his hips back.

At the seemingly sudden withdrawl, Kisuke felt a flash of worry and craned his neck to see what was the matter. His eyes grew wide with shock as Ichigo, with an almost mindless determination, bend over and start licking the cum from his skin. Unable to believe his eyes, the shopkeeper felt his whole body flush even more deeply and before he knew it, he was again moaning the young man's name.

Hearing his own name, the orange-haired teen looked up. He was dying to see the kind of expression that accompanied someone saying his name is such a lustful way and he wasn't disappointed. The blonde man before him was on his elbows and knees, jaw slackened, and with a slight knit in his eyebrows. It seemed the older man could barely keep his eyes from rolling back. That look stirred something that was already bubbling within him and put him back into action.

Ichigo gave another soft growl and sunk his teeth in the fair skin before him. His partner only saw a brief flash of white teeth before yelping in pain. His eyes grew wide as he looked back in disbelief, that look intensified when the young vizard pulled away with a definite, 'This is mine,' look in his eyes as he stared down at the angry red mark he'd just made.

That look made the older man hesitate. As hot as all this was, he was beginning to worry. "Ichigo," he said again, this time with a different kind of conviction but he was ignored. The vizard was too busy admiring his own work so he tried again. "This was sort of why I didn't think you'd want to wait to take care of that hollow energy," he informed.

Ichigo's face darkened a bit and he started to jerk the length that he'd been fondling for the past few minutes. "Are you telling me to back off?"

To his surprise, the young man actually sounded put off. "Uh..." he tried to reply but it quickly turned into another moan. Again, he found himself giving in to the feverish vizard, only vaguely wondering if it was a mistake.

Feeling the fiery haze overtake his senses, the teen went back to rubbing himself on his friends backside, cumming a couple more times like that before suddenly pushing himself in. After that, he sort of blacked out. His hollow didn't emerge, but he didn't seem to have much control over himself either.

Neither of them could keep track of how long they were at it. The only indicator of the passing of time was the fading light coming through the bedroom window. Ichigo's hips didn't stop moving until well after the light was gone and when they finally did, he withdrew, wobbled a bit on his knees, and passed out, landing heavily on the worn body beneath him.

Kisuke breathed a sigh of relief. Even though the young man now laying on him was rather heavy, he was also completely limp, enabling him to slip out from beneath him and carry him to the bed without waking him. Then, he decided to push his luck by undressing the vizard and was reminded of how difficult it is to dress a rag doll. At least this one had a cute little snore to listen to while he wiggled the teen's shirt up over his head.

Once his guest was nude, he folded the only slightly soiled clothes and proceeded to remove his own, doing the same before slipping into the bed with his young companion. So much of him wanted to take advantage of the reprieve and use it to do a couple things for himself like making tea or starting a load of laundry, but he knew better. Even though Ichigo was unconscious, he was most likely not completely unaware, and he was unwilling to risk having the young man awake, even just a little, while he was out of the room.

Ichigo was slow in waking a couple hours later. The speed of his awakening was impeded by the protective feeling of the warm body snuggled up against his back. Normally, he preferred to be the big spoon, but during times like these, it was worth it to make an exception. When he shifted to look Kisuke in the eye, he noticed that they were both naked.

"You old perv," he teased as he rolled over in the other man's arms. He didn't want to break physical contact but he did want eye contact.

"Don't be like that," the blond muttered. He could tell that the orange-haired teen was trying to break him out of whatever sort of revere he was indulging in, and it saddened him a little.

Ichigo frowned a little bit. "How do you feel?" he asked with almost bated breath.

"Aren't I usually asking that question?" the older man teased.

The young man's frown deepened at the teasing but in his heart he knew that it meant that his older friend wasn't hurt.

"Are you going to let me take care of that hollow energy now? Or are you going to jump me again?" the shopkeeper proposed as though he didn't want to have to choose between two preferable options.

"You didn't seem to mind," Ichigo teased.

Kisuke just smiled knowingly for a moment before returning to the matter at hand. "Actually, I find you quite interesting this way. Perhaps you'd rather burn off the rest of that energy naturally. It is likely to hurt less that way," he proposed.

"What do you mean 'interesting'?" the teen tried not to snap. He knew that his friend was messing with him, but with this man there was always an unnerving, and often annoying, kernel of truth at the root of the teasing.

"You bit me. You never bite me," he pointed out.

Ichigo felt a sudden rush of warmth in his face, a flush of embarrassment that quickly spread from his cheeks to the tips of his ears. We winced, wanting to apologize but at the same time, wasn't sure if it would be well received. "So, you didn't mention that getting rid of the hollow energy would hurt last time," he tried.

"Well, the extraction itself won't. Sure, it's uncomfortable but never exactly painful. You've experienced that before so you know I'm not lying. The reason it was so easy for me to perform the extraction is that you had wounds from which to pull the poison. It would have been even easier if they weren't almost completely healed. This time, you have no infected wounds which means I have nowhere to focus on. I would have to hurt you in order to do what you want me to," he explained, "either by trying to draw it out from your whole body or from giving you a wound sufficient to extract the energy."

Ichigo frowned deeply. "Why didn't you tell me that earlier?" he wondered.

"I was about to when you jumped me and all but told me to shut up," the older man playfully replied but then his face turned serious. "I probably shouldn't have let you do that, but I wanted to see what would happen."

The orange-haired teen was obviously put off by that. "So, what, like I'm some kind of experiment?"

"Now, now don't be like that. You know I'm a very curious person. Honestly, I didn't think there was another option earier...but leave it to you to prove me wrong," he admitted, then after a thoughtful moment of silence, said, "I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to wound you just to take care of the problem, a problem that now seems to be taking care of itself."

Because those last words were spoken with such seriousness and real emotion, Ichigo had to look away. He was always uncomfortable when others were looking out for him. He knew that was a part of friendship, but he preferred to be the one looking out for others. Shifting awkwardly out of the older man's arms, he eventually managed to slip out of the bed.

"Where are you going?" Kisuke asked curiously, somehow managing to keep any trance of accusation from his tone, however playful.

"To the bathroom," he replied evenly.

"Should I find Kon and toss him in there with you again?" the shopkeeper couldn't help a little teasing as the young man walked out of the room. He watched the teen visibly tense and then realize it was a joke before making it down the hall.

Ichigo did his business and then went to clean up a bit in the sink, making sure to splash cold water on his face to help keep him cooled down long enough to think straight. Was he behaving differently? He didn't think so, but Kisuke was rarely wrong about these things. He did feel a little different, but not necessarily bad until his reflection started to fade to black and white. Then he felt a little sick to his stomach. A moment later, his inner-hollow was staring back at him.

"What do you want?" the vizard griped.

The hollow smirked. "Let'em cut you. I like when you bleed unnecessarily."

Ichigo glared.

"Besides, it's what you want, right? You want him to hurt you because it easies the guilt and shame that you feel when you're like this. You still can't accept what you are. And if you ask me that's really why you lost Blondie," he blithely replied.

"You are the reason I lost him. What I don't get is why you did it. I thought you liked him in your own sick, twisted little way," the orange-haired young man protested.

"I still like him. He wasn't going to let a little thing like that get between you," he mocked.

"_A little thing?_" Ichigo nearly screamed. "You raped him in public!"

The hollow made a small sound of dismissal. "He liked it."

"He didn't fight you because he didn't want you attacking anybody else," the teen harshly reasoned.

"He didn't fight me because he liked it," he reasserted.

Ichigo felt his rage start to bubble. It'd been months since his hollow saw fit to grace him with it's presence and now he would be pestered by it? He almost stormed out of the bathroom, but then realized that a scene like that would only earn him a chance to explain himself, something he really wasn't keen on doing at this point. "Is there a reason you're bothering me?" he tried.

"You are acting different," the hollow noted. "You never bargain with me."

"I just want you to go away quietly," the young man reasoned, "or at least keep quiet."

"Okay. Promise me that you will go see Shinji when he tells you he's ready," it haggled.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Fine. Now go away," he shooed.

The creature in the mirror gave a long, thoughtful pause. "You are handling the hollow energy better than the old pervert is letting on. It's making you act a little weird, but you're not really any more dangerous now than you would normally be," he informed both as a thank you and to further mess with his host's head.

"What do you mean different?" he demanded.

The hollow smirked. "More like one of us. You know, now that I think about it, I'm a bit disappointed that you didn't happen upon Grimmjaw again this time. He would surely love this side of you."

"Go away!" the teen growled and to his surprise, the hollow faded away. He would like to have thought he was the one who willed the creature back, but he knew better. It was too easy for that. Either the hollow thought it didn't have enough of a foothold to make it worth trying to take control or, and worse yet, it could have approved of what was happening, which didn't happen very often but was always unnerving.

After about another minute of collecting his thoughts, he went back to the bedroom. Kisuke looked concerned right up until they made eye contact, then his lips turned up into a welcoming smile.

"What would you rather do? What is easier for you?" the vizard almost demanded as he took a seat on the edge of the bed, hardly aware that he was still naked.

"I already said that I would rather not hurt you," the older man chided.

"Do you think it's safe? I would rather hurt a little than risk having my hollow take control again," he reasoned.

Kisuke gave his guest a gentle pat on the thigh. "You have thus far been quite good to me. I would prefer not to do anything to change that."

"But it's my choice, right?" the young vizard pressed. He tried to sound willful but it just didn't come out that way.

"Only if you want the choice," the shopkeeper teased. "You could always relinquish control and allow me to decide for you. I know how you hate to worry about making decisions at times like this."

The teen appeared pensive. There were things about both options that appealed to him. As he considered those things, he surprised himself a bit. They weren't exactly the things he was expecting.

On the one hand he had the option to burn out the remainder of the hollow energy he'd acquired from his last encounter. It was making him aggressive. He didn't want to talk or play. He wanted to get what he needed from this person and do it with minimal distractions. It was a very exciting feeling, and it made him very nervous.

On the other, he could do what he'd decided was the right thing to do before his hormones took over. It seemed like the kind of decision a responsible person would make. Now it almost seemed like the kinkier choice because it involved pain and he wasn't completely opposed to that. He would justify it by saying that it was a minor act of repentance but deep down, he knew it was because he'd been shown how hot a little pain could be, especially during his episodes.

"Well?" Kisuke prompted somewhat impatiently.


End file.
